Are team building activities in Pittsburgh worth the hype? Your team, workplace, family and other groups are each a form of community. The best way for a community to thrive is to understand each individual's respective piece of the puzzle and how best each piece fits together. That's where team building activities come in!
According to Jono Bacon in the book The Art of Community: Building the New Age of Participation, “If you don't focus enough on ensuring that teams feel part of the same machine working together in the right direction, the community will feel fragmented.” So glue your team together with some memories to last a lifetime.
What are fun activities for team building? Read on for a scrumptious spark to your imagination.
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- Best Team Building Activities in Pittsburgh for Adults
- Youth Team Building Activities in Pittsburgh
- Indoor Team Building Activities in Pittsburgh
- Outdoor Team Building Activities in Pittsburgh
Best Team Building Activities in Pittsburgh for Adults
1. Craft Cuisine With Colleagues
Join your business associates, work teammates or friends and family for some enticing cooking classes in Pittsburgh. Learn to roll sushi by hand or roll up your sleeves to discover the best spices to add to authentic Mediterranean fare.
Delight in spices wafting through the air as you cement your bond with your group — a perfect way to begin your corporate team building activities in Pittsburgh, PA.
2. Brewery Tours
In line with the previous idea, you can't go wrong with an adult bonding activity centered around favored beverages (there are distilleries or company tours for sodas, too, if someone in your party avoids alcohol consumption). Pittsburgh is home to plentiful breweries and distilleries, with Natrona Bottling Company only an hour's drive from the city, for soda lovers.
This isn't just about alcohol, though, there is live music, fun pub food and diverse atmospheres to explore such as those located in renovated churches and farms, not to mention those that have gaming machines of all kinds from darts and pool to pinball.
3. Mind and Body Challenges
Speaking of games, don't forget the thrilling new additions to every city of escape rooms and ax throwing establishments. Whether you want to test your muscles and aim and compete against your colleagues or test your mental mettle together as you attempt to escape a fate worse than death, you'll find your team bond cemented through these fun activities for adults in Pittsburgh.
4. Visit Scenic Bridges
One of the most under-utilized community bonding skills involves enjoying a bit of beauty together or actually making time for conversation. Take a stroll around the city to enjoy the beauty of historic bridges across the three rivers found here. Sometimes the most underrated group activities for adults in Pittsburgh are also the best ones.
Youth Team Building Activities in Pittsburgh
5. Paintball Tournament
Snap to attention and remember that a little competition can truly build bonds between teams — especially at impressionable ages. Sports team building activities in Pittsburgh are always a hit, so load up the wagons and the paintball guns and get ready for some hard-hitting fun!
6. Tour Historic Sites
Museums and History Centers may not sound like a child's favorite version of indoor team building activities in Pittsburgh, but they haven't visited these particular sites.
Pittsburgh is rich in magnificent historic stories and curators ready to impress your student-aged teammates with upbeat and enticing bonding experiences.
You also have a variety of options to choose from such as the Heinz History Center with exhibits on local history as well as global implications, the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, The Frick and Andy Warhol Museums full of art through the ages and gorgeous gardens.
7. Carnegie Science Center
Who doesn't love a bit of science-based fun? This stupendous learning environment involves fantastic team building activities in Pittsburgh for adults and children alike! Try your hand at testing gravity or a more complex project, as guided by the knowledgeable leaders running the show at The Carnegie Science Center.
8. Amusement Park
A list of youth team building activities in Pittsburgh would be incomplete without mention of one of America's oldest amusement parks, Kennywood. This National Historic Landmark began as a park perfect for picnics until the first roller-coaster was installed in 1902. Bring your team on a scavenger hunt or a behind-the-scenes tour to build camaraderie.
9. Picnic Time
Splendor awaits as you bask in the natural beauty of Pittsburgh parks with your team. Let the children wander and play together as you spread out snacks and take in the views.
Picnics and park visits are classic outdoor team building activities in Pittsburgh or anywhere! Choose from a swath of options including Point State Park in the downtown area, North Park in Wexford, Frick Park in Squirrel Hill, Highland Park near the center of the Highland Park area, Schenley Park in Oakland and South Park in South Park Township.
Indoor Team Building Activities in Pittsburgh
10. Glass Blowing and Pottery Classes
Discover a new skill when you dive into an intriguing class in something unusual and exciting like glassblowing or pottery. This is the epitome of splendid team building activities in Pittsburgh. There is always something new to try in a city — plan ahead and your whole team will be blown away!
11. Take a Break From Reality
If you really need some new employee engagement ideas, step in to Pittsburgh VR. Virtual Reality is all the rage and you can build your team-building activity into the process. That might take a little research, but I believe you're up to the task.
12. Illustrious Illusions
Visit the entertaining and interactive Museum of Illusions in Pittsburgh. While this is a small chain of museums in major cities, each one is filled with delightful tricks and treats to keep the gears of your mind churning.
There could not be a more thrilling set of group activities for adults in Pittsburgh that can reveal your team's strong points and weaknesses, nor a more adventurous family outing for youth team building activities in Pittsburgh.
13. Climb a Rock Wall
One of the most well-beloved team building games in the past decade has become rock wall climbing. There are multiple locations where you can take your crew for this adventure, such as FA Climbing Station Square and Iron City Boulders.
Outdoor Team Building Activities in Pittsburgh
14. Secret Garden Style
Achieve a superbly muscular body and a glowing team or family bond as you dig your fingers into the soil and learn all about plants together. Delight in the outdoor team building activities in Pittsburgh of gardening at nurseries and farms all around the city.
There are resources like Grow Pittsburgh that have lists of events for groups, as well as orchards and greenhouses in nearby locations such as Wexford, McDonald, Cranberry and Allentown that have tours and hands-on projects you can get involved in.
15. Sports, Food and Beyond!
Many business people delight in a day of golf, but many of the golf options in Pittsburgh offer other options for those looking for a little something extra.
For instance, Cool Springs golf course also offers an entire sports complex including soccer fields for rent and private party rooms. Five Iron also offers exciting extras and can be found in downtown Pittsburgh.
16. A Day on the Water
Dive into scenic outdoor team building activities in Pittsburgh — and maybe get a little wet! There are three rivers coursing through the city in which you can paddle board, kayak or even take a pedal boat ride: the Flintstones' car for waterways. These certainly make for fun activities for adults in Pittsburgh.
17. Explore the Trails
If walking is more your speed, there are plenty of hiking spots and trails throughout the city and surrounding towns. The Montour Trail is a 60-mile long rail trail for pedestrians and bicyclers alike, which leads from Coraopolis on the Ohio River to Clairton on the Monongahela.
What is Pittsburgh best known for? You and your team will have to find out! Whether you're scaling a rock wall or exploring the scenic historic sites of the city, you'll form your own opinions on the answer to that question.
For even more fun team building ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!
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